HARRISBURG – Members of the Lehigh Valley House Republican delegation voted Saturday to discontinue the practice of using Earned Income Tax (EIT) collected from suburban residents who work within the Allentown-based Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ) to pay for the proposed $220 million ice hockey arena complex. These local taxes were earmarked to repay bonds issued by the Allentown Economic Development Corporation to fund economic development projects.

“We appreciate the support of our House and Senate colleagues in making this critical change to Pennsylvania’s fiscal code. Working as a delegation with Senator Pat Browne allowed this to happen, and shows what is possible when legislators from both chambers work as a team. More importantly, it is a symbol of state government working with local municipal officials, who in this case expressed deep concerns about the impact of losing their local tax revenue.

“We have heard loud and clear from the people of the Lehigh Valley, who expect and deserve good stewardship of their hard-earned tax dollars. This adjustment to Pennsylvania law ensures that. In addition to providing for the return of tax dollars already collected, enactment of Senate Bill 1263 means that, once again, local tax revenue will stay within our municipalities and school districts for the well-being and improvement of our communities.”